A San Diego Dining & Nightlife Institution

The quintessential steakhouse that doesn't just reach for the lounge vibe, it helped define it. If the history and nightly piano doesn't get you, the stiff cocktails, steak, and seafood surely will.

Red Fox Room - San Diego

An undeniable city icon, the independently owned Red Fox Steakhouse and Piano Bar is located in the east wing of the Lafayette. Dating from around 1560, The Red Fox was originally an old inn in Surrey, England . The dining room features three original rooms, each slightly different in design, which have been combined to form a single spacious "tap room." The bar, back bar and the trim around the doors with the interesting small-carved figures come from Charles of London. The Tudor paneling and the fireplace with its finely carved mantel bear the date of 1642. The three arched panels tell the story of Rebecca and Isaac as found in Genesis, Chapters 24 and 27. (Esquire)

We hope you're sitting down, because the story behind the Red Fox is unbelievable.

Sometime around 1926, the entire restaurant was dismantled and shipped to the United States for the petite, blonde cinema actress, Marion Davies, who was at the height of her career popularity. Beach homes were a must for the movie colony of those halcyon days, so when Miss Davies decided the song of the surf was a requirement for relaxation from studio demands, these rooms were dismantled, shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in sections, and then completely rebuilt as her "Ocean House." During the 1950's, this property was sold and Miss Davies' "Ocean House" was converted into a hotel. Click here for more information about the Red Fox Room.